Kuboki T, Suematsu H
Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Branch Hospital.
Nihon Rinsho. 1994 May;52(5):1334-8.
The recent publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, third edition (D.S.M-III) has provided the basis for the separate diagnostic entity of panic disorder. A panic attack is characterized by the abrupt onset of apprehension or fear accompanied by symptoms such as dyspnea, palpitation, chest discomfort, dizziness, sweating, feeling of unreality, and fear of dying. Panic disorder, defined as four panic attacks in a four week period, has a lifetime prevalence of 1 to 2 percent of the general population. In these patients, panic disorders can be provoked by pharmacological challenge with sodium lactate, yohimbine, caffeine and carbon dioxide inhalation. Recently, the relationship between panic disorder and depression became a subject of investigation from various points of view.
《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第三版（DSM-III）的近期出版为惊恐障碍这一独立诊断实体提供了依据。惊恐发作的特征是突然出现忧虑或恐惧，并伴有呼吸困难、心悸、胸部不适、头晕、出汗、现实感丧失及濒死恐惧等症状。惊恐障碍定义为在四周内出现四次惊恐发作，在普通人群中的终生患病率为1%至2%。在这些患者中，乳酸钠、育亨宾、咖啡因及吸入二氧化碳等药物激发试验可诱发惊恐障碍。最近，惊恐障碍与抑郁症之间的关系从各种角度成为了研究对象。
